For Merrill Lynch and UBS, allegations of widespread racial discrimination put a damper on an otherwise stellar year for the firms. Both wirehouses were named in separate lawsuits seeking class-action status on account of black brokers that allege...
The mechanics of regulatory bodies only occasionally attracts the interests of rank-and-file advisors, like back in 1996 when the Nasdaq market was nailed for price fixing. It wasn't just investors that were paying too much for a trade: Small...
Sick of SEC examiners and the their practice of ? Congressional reps, Michael Castle (R-Del.) and Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives just before Christmas that would abolish the arm of the SEC that conducts...
Jerry Brown, Terry Kelley and Mark Strynar have joined Morgan Stanley with $178 million assets under management. Brown and Strynar were formerly senior vice presidents at UBS. The team, located in Florida, produces $2.1 million in revenue. Marcus...
The brokerage industry will always loathe regulation. And it's safe to say brokers weren't raising pints of ale to the announcement in January that Mary Schapiro, head of NASD Regulatory Policy and Oversight, would be taking over for Robert...
The following letter, based on a real life situation with a friend and the friend's financial advisor, offers a peek at issues concerning boomer clients (all names are fictitious): Dear Roger: Thank you for spending so much time counseling our...
What does an advisor do when clients at his firm are routinely charged an undisclosed commission on top of fees and he suffers for not falling in line? Q: I work for a major wirehouse. Like most others in our industry, we offer fee-based accounts...
A must read for any self-respecting financial advisor? The Millionaire Maker by Loral Langemeier. She advocates active, direct investments in things like private businesses and real estate. She's against the park-and-pray method that most people...
Critics complain that hedge funds are too expensive for the returns they have lately been producing. Setting performance aside (which is as varied as the strategies pursued), on first blush, the ante does seem somewhat dear: Most hedge funds...
Brokers must take tests. It's a fact of Wall Street life. That some people will go too far in an effort to pass them is sadly a fact of industry life, too. Here are a few of the more egregious examples: That's an Old Photo of Me Dmitry Verkhovsky ...
